An Interview With Paddy Hanna

Having recently had Beatles on the brain, specifically the early years of their hysteria-inducing mop tops, I started to think about their early interviews. I started to look up some of those early pressers and was taken aback by just how many times the fab foursome was asked about money and marriage, but there were some gems amongst the clunkers. And so, inspired by the early press conferences of the Beatles, especially their US interviews, I decided to ask some of those very same questions to some of the best and brightest making music today.

Dublin's Paddy Hanna has quite a set of pipes. On new record Frankly, I Mutate, Hanna purrs, coos, postures, croons, preens, and seduces, all while backed by seriously lush soundscapes that recall girl groups, blue-eyed soul, and cheeky indie pop (for starters). Hanna's voice was made for telling stories, and he's certainly not shy about spinning yarns. Frankly, it's a good thing he's not.

Read on to see Paddy's As to my Qs, and why not pick up Frankly, I Mutate while you do?  

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Fuzzy Logic: What has been your most exciting moment in the last year?

Paddy Hanna: The day my new record came out. It was during a snowstorm and my girlfriend and I made a snowman to celebrate.

FL: Who are your favorite recording artists?

PH: I am not a diehard fan of anything, I cherrypick the bits I like from the artists I admire. At the moment I am very much enjoying Young Fathers and country music artist Johnny Paycheck.

FL: Do you feel safe riding in airplanes?

PH: I used to be doubled over in fear of airplanes, now I sit defiantly accepting that if the plane goes down, I’ve had a good innings.

FL: Does every city look the same?

PH: Certainly not, I was only just in Berlin and that sure as heck doesn’t look like Dublin.

FL: What message are you trying to get across, if any?

PH: Vulnerability is sexy.

FL: How would you describe yourself in one word?

PH: Fiendish.

FL: Where would you like to go that you haven't gone yet?

PH: Japan, for far too many reasons.

FL: Do you feel that you're setting a new trend in music?

PH: Trends suck, so hopefully not.

FL: What kinds of guitars do you use?

PH: Currently a Guild Archtop, but I will probably switch to my Tanglewood semi-acoustic as I'm sick of using amplifiers.

FL: Does anybody ever ask you for advice?

PH: Yes, but my responses are usually muddled and confusing.

FL: How do you prefer for your fans to act at your concerts?

PH: Zip your yaps and enjoy the damn thing.

FL: How do you go about writing your songs?

PH: Generally if the song takes longer then an hour to write, it's probably not that good.

FL: What is one question you would like to be asked that probably nobody has ever asked?

PH: Not enough people ask me about my dog Cuppy, God knows I take enough photos of her for the Instagrams.

FL: What do you call your sound?

PH: Chess club badass.

FL: Have you ever had a mental block-out on stage?

PH: Yes. I met a woman whom I hadn’t seen in years one minute before taking the stage in Dublin. I had no ill will towards this person, but seeing her took me back to a time when I was a very lost person, and I became that lost person on stage. It was a weird experience.

FL: What are your unfulfilled ambitions?

PH: I want the courage to swim daily in the Irish Sea, I just need to overcome my fear of sea monsters.

FL: What advice do you have for teenagers?

PH: If everyone in you class thinks a certain thing is cool, that thing is not cool.

FL: What is the closest you have come to losing life and limb?

PH: I almost died as a newborn, had a kidney stone, can’t remember it though.

FL: Do you think of yourself more as an entertainer or a musician, or do you think it's more of a combination of the two?

PH: I'll call it a combination soon, still coming to grips with my stage nerves.





[posted 3.28.18]